I'm sure you've all been using this web-based system for months (years?), but my head's spinning with the idea of sharing, viewing, publishing docs. and spreadsheets via Google Docs which popped up by accident while looking at an attachment received today.
As I've only been using it for 5 mins, I'm not sure if you have to have a Gmail account or not, but just from the point of view of rental admin to cleaners, manager, rental notes to punters etc. the possibilities seem completely endless.
Among a dozen initial queries, something I can't fathom is that having used one Gmail account to access the system, the other Gmail accounts we use have instant access to the same initial account, which, having thought they were entirely independent, baffles me.
MG
Anyone using Google Docs?
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Mountain Goat
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Alan Knighting
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MG,
Fluffy
Although I’ve had a Gmail account for ages I don’t use it much so know nothing about its intricacies. I haven’t used Google Docs at all although it looks really interesting - I just don’t need its sharing facilities. Since it’s all on-line I would have thought it is definitely not for those still using a dial-up modem.I'm sure you've all been using this web-based system for months (years?),
Fluffy
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Alan Knighting
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Mountain Goat
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By coincidence, today, we've got a last-minute punter who can't receive our booking form (PC Word attachment from us, Mac at his end), and we were having to revert to snail mail, and, I guess, all that last-minute messing around.
Anything to help a guest with special needs, so we uploaded the booking form to Google Docs., collaborating with punter / me / book-keeper (who's in today), we could see the punter filling in the form online (Google warns you someone else is editing a shared doc.), and Bob's your uncle, we had it back in 10 mins. Punter no doubt went out and bought a PC immediately, but, hey, Mac users, no need, you can squeeze another year or so out of them.
Google Docs. can save to blog, PDF, html, Word, Excel, download, upload, make the tea etc. - well impressed.
So all directions, renting notes, T&C stuff, how-to-run-the-chalet notes can all be done on Google Docs., and shared as required to everyone involved, including our 15' wide spreadsheet for all the guest data.
All free at the moment. But even if they then tweak a Google account up to $5/year, one can see the potential for shoveling some serious inbound loot - a few billion plus or minus?
MG
Anything to help a guest with special needs, so we uploaded the booking form to Google Docs., collaborating with punter / me / book-keeper (who's in today), we could see the punter filling in the form online (Google warns you someone else is editing a shared doc.), and Bob's your uncle, we had it back in 10 mins. Punter no doubt went out and bought a PC immediately, but, hey, Mac users, no need, you can squeeze another year or so out of them.
Google Docs. can save to blog, PDF, html, Word, Excel, download, upload, make the tea etc. - well impressed.
So all directions, renting notes, T&C stuff, how-to-run-the-chalet notes can all be done on Google Docs., and shared as required to everyone involved, including our 15' wide spreadsheet for all the guest data.
All free at the moment. But even if they then tweak a Google account up to $5/year, one can see the potential for shoveling some serious inbound loot - a few billion plus or minus?
MG
It's good to learn that anyone can open those new google web apps but to put the record straight, MS Office with Excel/Word/Powerpoint has been available for the Mac since the mid 90's
The new PC version of MS Office 2007 is similar to the 2004 Mac version of MS Office http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/o ... office2004
Clarisworks/Appleworks that includes a spreadsheet package has been available on the Mac since the late 1980's and was usually bundled free with new Macs. I think this has now changed with the introduction of iWork but most buy a copy of MS Office anyway as you would with a PC.
The universal Adobe PDF's are what most use to send docs. On the Mac you just select "Print - Save as PDF" but no idea how you do this on a PC.
The new PC version of MS Office 2007 is similar to the 2004 Mac version of MS Office http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/o ... office2004
Clarisworks/Appleworks that includes a spreadsheet package has been available on the Mac since the late 1980's and was usually bundled free with new Macs. I think this has now changed with the introduction of iWork but most buy a copy of MS Office anyway as you would with a PC.
The universal Adobe PDF's are what most use to send docs. On the Mac you just select "Print - Save as PDF" but no idea how you do this on a PC.
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Mountain Goat
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but to put the record straight, MS Office with Excel/Word/Powerpoint has been available for the Mac since the mid 90's
pja, hello
I think we've discussed this on LMH before, and I can't remember the answer, but all I know is sending a PC-generated Word doc. to a Mac owner often ends in tears (and probably vice-versa).
I guess PDF is the answer, though I want them to fill in and return the booking form which could also be a problem if they haven't got the full Adobe prog.
But, Google Docs. saves the hassle as it's not platform-specific(?) and PC/Mac can communicate happily online; hence my current enthusiasm.
MG
pja, hello
I think we've discussed this on LMH before, and I can't remember the answer, but all I know is sending a PC-generated Word doc. to a Mac owner often ends in tears (and probably vice-versa).
I guess PDF is the answer, though I want them to fill in and return the booking form which could also be a problem if they haven't got the full Adobe prog.
But, Google Docs. saves the hassle as it's not platform-specific(?) and PC/Mac can communicate happily online; hence my current enthusiasm.
MG
MG,
I've used googledocs occasionally, laziness really, because it's easier to have a quick look at a spreadsheet there than crank up Excel on my PC just to open an odd document when I'm in the middle of something else and already in memory overload (running an old but sturdy PC workhorse here). Doesn't it automatically save a copy in your account as well? I haven't given it much attention, but if it converts to PDF for free, that's brilliant. I don't need that aspect as I bought Adobe Elements, but I would not send Word Documents if you can avoid it. Not only do you not know what they are going to look like when received at the other end, because your formatting is replaced by their formatting, but also, Word docs have a reputation for harboring viruses, so people (inc. moi) are nervous of opening them at all. PDF is the way to go and for that reason alone, it would be worth using.
My 2 cents.
I've used googledocs occasionally, laziness really, because it's easier to have a quick look at a spreadsheet there than crank up Excel on my PC just to open an odd document when I'm in the middle of something else and already in memory overload (running an old but sturdy PC workhorse here). Doesn't it automatically save a copy in your account as well? I haven't given it much attention, but if it converts to PDF for free, that's brilliant. I don't need that aspect as I bought Adobe Elements, but I would not send Word Documents if you can avoid it. Not only do you not know what they are going to look like when received at the other end, because your formatting is replaced by their formatting, but also, Word docs have a reputation for harboring viruses, so people (inc. moi) are nervous of opening them at all. PDF is the way to go and for that reason alone, it would be worth using.
My 2 cents.
MG, I agree, I think Google Docs has the potential to be really interesting. I've used it several times to open word, excel, etc., docs in Linux -- or, more correctly, on a very old version of Linux whose OpenOffice doesn't handle the intricacies of .xls very well. Google Docs did much better with it. 
I could also see this being very useful when I finally give up this old computer and my new computer doesn't have the capability to easily write to the PDF format (at least in Windoze).
I could also see this being very useful when I finally give up this old computer and my new computer doesn't have the capability to easily write to the PDF format (at least in Windoze).
Brooke
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Hells Bells
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MG, I have been using it all winter to do just that. I add a booking and it's info to the spreadsheet, and share it with our management. Great, and she loves it too. It's so useful not haveing to keep mailing EXcel attachments back and forwards, and I always found a work computer with no Office software (pharmacy computers can be very outdated sometimes). As long as I have an internet commection (and I occasionally don't have one of those), it is fine.
Funny but I've just started using googledocs too!! Have uploaded my contract forms etc but I notice that when I send them via googledocs (have only tested myself really) the formatting changes the other end which I know shouldn't really happen but it def does and it took quite a bit of time fiddling with it to get it right. Just thought it would be good for me when I am away and in a internet cafe somewhere I can still send contracts etc and look at my spreadsheets!